"This is how last 50 years of Duke basketball has been officiated": Fans blast Blue Devils after first-round game against Vermont 

In the Duke versus Vermont NCAA tournament matchup, Duke dominated Vermont to win 64-47. Duke was led by Jared McCain and Mark Mitchell, who each contributed 15 points, followed by 14 points from Jeremy Roach.

Despite the win, Duke was heavily criticized by fans online for their tactics, particularly in the final seven minutes of the game.

During this time, Duke players were given what fans believed were unnecessary fouls and wasting time. A series of fouls occurred, such as Sam Alamutu's foul at 5:39 and TJ Long's foul at 5:03, allowing Duke to control the play. To this, one fan commented about how Duke has been favored for the past 50 years:

"This is how the last 50 years of Duke basketball has been officiated," said the fan on X.

Vermont fought with determination until the end with Shamir Bogues and Aaron Deloney scoring 18 and 14 points, respectively. However, their defense wasn't strong enough to stop Duke's offense.

On X, formerly Twitter, fans argued about the favorable calls and questioned the transparency and fairness of NCAA officiating.

Here are some other fan reactions on X:

"Duke getting coddled by this officiating crew," said one fan.

"Vermont coach already fed up with the officiating while playing Duke. Preach, brother," said another.

"Laughable officiating at this point and Duke can't hit water if they fell off a boat," added another.

"Officiating has been bad all year out of all the conferences in CBB."

"Some of the officiating in this tournament has been f*cking awful."

"What a horrible call. Home court officiating not gonna let Duke lose to Vermont."

"Duke was given that game. That's horrible officiating. Vermont won that game in my opinion."

"Happy so far with the score, only reason Duke isn't down now is their 14 more free throws than us in one half. Shameful officiating."

"I hate the officiating completely changes in the tournament. The agenda changebecause they don't work for either of these leagues so they , it feels, like the work against the conference teams that rival theirs. So much garbage contact andany 50-50 goes to the dukes right now."

"That's a foul. I'm sorry, but refs are already garbage."

"Big Cat I come in peace as a Duke fan, this is egregious officiating against Wisconsin."

"There's no way a Duke fan is complaining about officiating. No way."

"Duke basketball fans complaining about officiating is chef's kiss after the upset."

"The officiating in the ACC is a joke. He should be expelled for the rest of the season. Typical Duke punk."

What's next for Duke after the win against Vermont?

Vermont v Duke

Duke entered the 2024 NCAA Tournament as the No. 4 seed in the South Region. Having won the national championship five times in 1991, 1992, 2001, 2010 and 2015, Duke has +3000 odds to win the national championship for the sixth time.

After securing their first win in the tournament against Vermont, Duke will either face Wisconsin or James Madison in the South Region's second round.

Do you think Duke can clinch their sixth title glory in the March Madness 2024? Let us know in the comments section below.